Birds of the Upper Cumberland Region: Species Accounts

Black-and-white Warbler (Mniotilta varia)

Black-and-white Warbler [lateral view of female-plumaged individual]: Photograph Credit: Rickey Shive; Metcalfe County, Kentucky; 7 September 2019.

Abundance: Fairly Common during spring, summer, and fall; population density greater at higher elevations, such as on the Cumberland Plateau, and lesser at lower elevations, such as on the Highland Rim and especially in the Central Basin (see Foray Results [below]); recorded in all Regional counties (Map of UCR Distribution); data from Regional bird-monitoring efforts indicate the population breeding in the Region is probably stable (see also Regional Bird-Monitoring Plan).

Status: Summer Resident; photograph [dorsal view of female-plumaged individual] (Carol D. Williams; DeKalb County, Tennessee; 25 September 2010); also see above.

Regional High Count and SBC/SBB High Count: 126 (9 May 1998; Putnam County, Tennessee [SBC]; m. ob.); FBC/FBB High Count: 29 (15 September 2001; Putnam County, Tennessee [FBC]; m. ob.).

Regional Extreme Dates:

    Early Spring: x (

    Late Fall: x (

    Note: Spring arrival usually widespread by 10 April; fall departure largely complete by 1 October.  Regional dates of earliest reported spring arrival and latest reported fall departure for the years 2002–2011 follow:

Breeding: Confirmed (Recent). 

Habitat: Microhabitat (i.e., tree trunks and limbs) of importance to this trunk- and limb-foraging species.

YardWatch Results 2003 and 2004: Registered on 7 (of 125 possible) monthly check-lists during 2003 and on 22 (of 206 possible) check-lists during 2004, leading to YardWatch frequency classifications of Very Uncommon and Uncommon, respectively; each of these frequency classifications indicates a lesser likelihood of encountering this species in Regional yards and neighborhoods than in the Region as a whole.

Foray Results: A summary of data from UCR Forays follows (to view a map displaying foray data for a county or a sub-Region for this species, click on the name of an underlined county or state below):

* Because some foray blocks fall into two or three counties, the total of blocks in the Kentucky or Tennessee portions of the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the counties of each portion of the Region; similarly, because some blocks fall into both states, the total of blocks for the Region is less than the sum of the blocks in the two states.

Remarks: 

Check-lists of Birds for the Counties of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of each county of the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed by clicking on the links below. For each county, there are two check-lists: one list that shows the species that have been observed and where possible documented in the county within the larger list for the entire Region; and one list that includes only the species observed in the county with annotations for the date and observers for at least one sighting (the ultimate goal of the latter list will be to include annotations for the very first known Regional observation of each species in that county; this goal is probably one that will take many years to complete, if completion is even a possibility). To see if the species discussed in this species account has been observed in a county, click below or click on the link for the Map of UCR Distribution near the top of the page.

Check-lists of Birds for Some Public Access Birding Sites of the UCR

Check-lists of the birds of some public access birding sites within the Upper Cumberland Region may be viewed via the links below. To see if the species dealt with in this species account has been observed within any of these sites, click on the appropriate link below. See the pages for each county within the Gazetteer for links to additional smaller public access birding sites with check-lists in progress.

Literature Cited